Night, in the Sea of No Light.
High in the sky, a dozen nautical miles from Steam Island.
Even if someone shouted and screamed here, no one would notice. It was an excellent testing site.
"Armed Liberation!!!"
"Awaken, Abyssal One!"
"Open!!!!"
"..."
"Gaia!!!!!"
Loud cries rang out one after another, but apart from sending ripples across the sea below, they brought no change. Instead, they attracted quite a few black shadows, though they could not reach Yang Yi high in the sky for the time being.
He still held an exaggerated pose, like a transformation sequence in a tokusatsu show, with an egg-like item behind him.
"This doesn't work either?"
Yang Yi frowned, feeling all along that this thing only needed a certain condition fulfilled before it could be used.
The living thing inside the egg had clearly accepted him; the fact that he could move it proved that. So the condition was something else, possibly a particular slogan or gesture. Yang Yi had already tried so many that he had nearly exhausted his brain, but he still had not found it.
"...If this still doesn't work, I'll have to try digging you out. You don't want to be cut open by that 'Spear That Pierces Everything,' do you?"
Yang Yi moved the Abyssal One in front of him and threatened it under his breath, but it remained unmoved.
It was quite possible this thing simply could not communicate through language, and all this was futile.
"Does it need a drop of blood to recognize its master?"
An idea struck Yang Yi. His left hand turned into a wolf's claw, its nails becoming black and sharp. He slashed a cut across his right palm, and fire poured from the wound. He slapped his palm toward the cocoon, only to hit